Dugout on Saturday, I definitely will be next week

on the mend and aiming to be back in the dugout for tomorrow’s fixture. While the head cold has placed his comeback in doubt, he said he is not far away from making that targeted return.

“I’m very close to doing that. I was in here [at Oriam] last Saturday morning meeting Clevid [Dikamona], the new centre-back,” Levein said. “I had already made the decision I was not going to the [St Mirren] game. But I was only in here for a while, maybe a couple of hours, and I felt quite drained and tired so I was thankful I had made that decision.

“Butwhenitcomesdownto it I decided this week that if I feel like I have enough energy then I will definitely be in the dugout. If I’m not in the dugout on Saturday, I definitely will be the following game.”

Levein was not fit to attend the side’s last match, an emphatic 4-1 thumping of St Mirren, but Hearts performed well in his absence, maintaining their 100 per cent record in the league campaign, which, he says, dilutes the urgency of his return.

But with the domestic action getting underway again, he is hoping that the early momentum has not been disrupted by the international break and whether he is in the technical area or not, he expects his men to be challenged by a team that is rediscovering top form, as Hearts strive to safeguard their place at the top of the Premiership table.

“I was at the Rangers game,” Levein added of the recent 3-3 draw with Motherwell, “and [Motherwell] were back to what they are good at – getting the ball forward quickly and Curtis Main sharpening his elbows and bullying centre-backs. They win second balls, have good delivery into the box and play with high energy – it’s what they were good at last season.”